Good article from Gavin Willacy
[urlhttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/no-helmets-required/2018/feb/27/rugby-league-structure-super-london-toronto-winter-olympics[/url

It is staggering though that nobody really knows what the RFL are discussing for next season, let alone what it is likely to be. Effectively freezes any planning for Championship clubs.

The TV rights for a super 8 type system are signed over to Sky to 2021, so suspect there will not be a big enough consensus of SL clubs to force a change. Interesting times.

Bath is a strange one, when they talked about moving to the outskirts of the city with a new perpose built stadium there was up roar. But the current ground they have to keep one side open or available to be open as the playing field use has to be multi sport. I can’t see them moving, but agree with you the rfu would never bar them from the top flight.
But for us, I think the RFL need to be realistic, we are a long way, a long long way from 10k crowds, a 5k capacity is all we would need. I would love that to be Trailfinders (even if it is a wedding venue at the mo) to be able to play multiple games on one day is paying dividends I feel.

I think part of the sky deal was competition, and that means winners and losers! That includes demotion, like it or dislike it, if teams place in the top flight is guaranteed then you get to the point where games don’t mean a lot apart from pride in league position for teams at the bottom.

In the unlikely scenario that bath did get relegated they would have to pass the same criteria as all other clubs chasing if they made bath a special case there would be all sorts of legal action flying about and I can't see where they can play in Bristol think the memorial ground is to be a supermarket soon.

27000 capacity stadium in Bristol at Ashton gate is pretty adequate I would have thought. And a better option than swinetown.
But then again it’s kick and clap so who really cares.

Bristol and Bristol city already play there. That only leaves Bristol rovers which seems to be left in the unknown.

It’s. Yawnion who cares?

Adam Pearson does






In reality, we all should care. If you think there's nothing we ca learn from them then look at these images.....



Now I get the hostility and the cries of "double counting double headers" and "event games shouldn't count" but no amount of whining will change the fact that over 2 decades we have been left behind......
6,816 was our 1997 average, nearly 600 more fans per game, but last season we were over 7,000 fans per game behind them when counting the same original 12 sides..........if we count oldhams attendances as 500 and include Wakefield over PSG, we are still 6,400 behind them......so whilst you cal it Yawnion, the GENERAL PUBLIC THINK DIFFERENTLY!

Dog, quote as many numbers as you wish.
It’s yawnion I really have very little interest in the game.
I have an interest in Bath only because I lived there.
Who is we?

Thank you. Numbers are a factual statistic that can't lie. They do not impact on your opinion, but in this case, they do show that whilst we have stagnated, they have grown by 120% in terms of fans in attendance.
20 years ago they had fewer fans, no TV deal and nothing more than a domestic competition......now they absolutely dwarf us in all those areas including TV audience and income. We should be interested in learning how they have done this.
Nice place......
"we" is the RL fan collective that decry anything we perceive as "against us" be that the BBC, the RFU or anyone else whilst refusing to accept we are masters of our own destiny and architects of our own downfall!

Yes and they went from being an amateur sport to a professional sport.
Q have the overall gate figures for RL gone up in the period you mention? Think even your figures show that the teams that are still in the top flight have increased numbers therefore not stagnant.
Who on here has tried to say anyone has anything against us? Certainly not me! I don’t like watching yawnion, but I don’t knock anyone that does!

Learning from RU “we” as a collective can do nothing so “we” can learn nothing!

“We” follow a sport that is played by different rules in different countries, and another set of rules internationally, until that is sorted the sport will never be taken seriously by the general public.